Drug Spending Out of Control, Record $600 Billion Spent Worldwide

Worldwide annual spending for prescription drugs has topped $600 billion for the first time ever in 2005.

The United States  accounted for more than $250 billion, but the fastest growth was in emerging markets such as China , Russia , South Korea and Mexico , where sales increased an astonishing 81 percent.

New Drugs and Old

Biotech protein drugs, such as new anemia treatments, were among the top sellers in the United States , but were not best-sellers worldwide. However, the market for drugs in this category still grew 17 percent to $53 billion. Most of the worldwide best-selling drugs were traditional "small molecule" drugs.

The Next Blockbuster

While there are many drugs with sales of $1 billion or more, there are few "mega-blockbusters" with sales of $5 billion or more. A hefty 2,300 drugs are currently being tested on humans in an attempt to find the next big seller.